No one will be charged in rape investigation, state attorney says

NO CHARGES, THAT'S THE WORD FROM STATE ATTORNEY WILLIE MAE. NO CHARGES WILL BE FILED AGAINST FLORIDA STATE QUARTERBACK JAMEIS WINSTON AS A RESULT OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO AN ALLEGED RAPE. JAMIE SEH HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THE STORY FROM THE GET-GO. WHAT BROUGHT THEM TO THE FINAL DECISION? AT A PRESS CONFERENCE THIS AFTERNOON, STATE ATTORNEY SAID HIS OFFICE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO CHARGE JAMEIS WINSTON WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT. LOCAL 6 HAS REACTION FROM THE FSU QUARTERBACK. WINSTON RELEASED THIS STATEMENT A FEW HOURS AGO THROUGH HER LAWYER. I WANT TO THANK MY FAMILY, FRIENDS, COACHES AND TEAMMATES FOR STANDING BY ME DURING A DIFFICULT TIME. I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR EXAMINING ALL OF THE FACTS AND REACHING THE DECISION IN A CONCLUSIVE MANNER. HE GOES ON TO SAY IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO STAY SILENT IN THE PROCESS BUT I NEVER LOST FAITH IN THE TRUTH AND WHO I AM. HE ADDS HE'S RELIEVED TO CONTINUING HIS EDUCATION AT FLORIDA STATE. HE'S ELIGIBLE TO PLAY THIS WEEKEND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. THIS CONCLUDES A YEAR-LONG SEEMINGLY ON AND OFF INVESTIGATION WHICH BEGAN LAST DECEMBER WHEN A 19-YEAR-OLD FEMALE, AN FSU STUDENT AT THE TIME, TOLD TALLAHASSEE POLICE SHE WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED. LATER IDENTIFYING JAMEIS WINSTON AS THE SUSPECT. TODAY, MEGS ANNOUNCED THE CASE IS CLOSED AND HE ALSO REVEALED THE ALLEGED VICTIM HAD DIFFICULTY RECOLLECTING WHAT HAPPENED A YEAR AGO AND TWO DIFFERENT SAMPLES OF MALE D.N.A. WERE FOUND ON THE YOUNG WOMAN'S CLOTHING. ONE BELONGED TO WINSTON. THROUGH HIS ATTORNEY, WINSTON SAID THE SEX WAS CONSENSUAL. WE HAVE A DUTY AS PROSECUTORS TO ONLY FILE THOSE CHARGES IF WE HAVE A REASONABLE LIKELIHOOD OF A CONVICTION. AFTER REVIEWING ALL OF THE EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE, WE DID NOT FEEL WE COULD MEET THAT BURDEN. WE BELIEVED FROM DAY ONE, IN DECEMBER, THIS WAS A CONSENSUAL ACT BETWEEN MR. WINSTON AND A YOUNG WOMAN. WE BELIEVED IT IN DECEMBER, IN FEBRUARY AND WE BELIEVE IT TODAY. WHEN MEGS WAS ASKED IF HE THOUGHT WINSTON DID NOT COMMIT RAPE, MEGS REITERATED THAT HIS OFFICE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO BRING CHARGES AND IT'S UP TO AN INDIVIDUAL TO MAKE UP HIS OR HER MIND ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. HE SAID ALL THE STATE'S FINDINGS

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -

Florida State University star quarterback Jameis Winston will not face any charges after being accused of rape by a woman.

Lee County State Attorney Willie Meggs made the announcement on Thursday at a news conference in Tallahassee after an investigation into the 2012 accusations wrapped up.

Asked why no charges would be filed, Lee County State Attorney Willie Meggs said: "We have a duty as prosecutors to only file ... charges if we have a reasonable likelihood of a conviction. We did not feel we could meet that burden."

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The woman claimed Winston raped her in December. According to police documents, the woman told investigators she was drinking with friends at a bar called Potbellys. They later left her after consuming several shots, according to the documents.

The woman came forward a month later to accuse Winston, but Tallahassee's interim Police Chief Tom Coe said last week that the accuser "broke off contact" with investigators in February and at the time no longer wanted to go forward with the case.

While the Tallahassee Police Department's investigation, which the accuser's family has publicly criticized, "could have been handled better," Meggs said, there was nothing that would necessitate an investigation of the department.

Asked specifically about the delay in collecting Winston's DNA, Meggs called it "immaterial" because Winston's DNA matched the DNA on the accuser's underwear. It wasn't a matter of whether Winston and the accuser had sex, Meggs said; it was a matter of whether it was a "forceful act."

Another DNA sample was found on the accuser's shorts, Meggs said, but he wouldn't say who it belonged to.

Another DNA sample was found on the accuser's shorts, Meggs said, but he wouldn't say who it belonged to.

He did, however, say the accuser "acknowledged having sex with her boyfriend, but she wouldn't tell me who her boyfriend was." Investigators were able to determine his identity later, he said.

Several people were in the room on the night of the incident, Meggs said, and all were interviewed. The accuser's blood-alcohol level when taken was 0.04%, which Meggs said was "not very high." He further said investigators extrapolated the data to determine that her BAC was about 0.1%, slightly over the legal limit to drive, at the time of the incident.

"We found no evidence of any drugs of any sort in her blood system." he said.

The prosecutor's findings, which Meggs said would be available to the media in a report within 24 hours, will demonstrate there was no indication Winston sexually assaulted the woman, the prosecutor said.

"When you see the report, you'll see all the answers," Meggs told reporters.

The case resurfaced after media outlets made public records requests for the initial complaint.

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